Jane Knapp, College Of Dupage Nurse

November 12, 1999|By Joan Giangrasse Kates, Tribune Staff Writer.

During the late 1960s, after the birth of her first child, Jane Knapp decided to leave her job as a registered private nurse in the Boston area, where she specialized in assisting doctors during what was then the medically groundbreaking field of open heart surgeries and transplants.

Although Mrs. Knapp loved her work, it was a choice she made gladly, embracing her new-found motherhood with the same devotion and enthusiasm that she made her such a good nurse. She had a total of five children.

"Jane saw being a mother as the most important thing she could ever do," said her husband, Ted Knapp. "It was like another career, to her, only better, because her motivation came straight from the heart."

A non-smoker, Mrs. Knapp, 62, died Tuesday in her Lisle home from lung cancer.

Born in Fall River, Mass., Mrs. Knapp was a graduate of Newport Rhode Island School of Nursing. She practiced nursing for only a few years before moving to the Chicago area after her husband accepted a job transfer.

"It wasn't an easy move for her, being a born and bred New Englander, but she adapted very well," her husband said.

In 1978, once her children were in school and absorbed in their own activities, Mrs. Knapp took a nursing job at the Health Service Center at the College of DuPage, where her duties included performing student physicals, responding to emergency calls on campus and tending to administrative health records. She also was responsible for decorating the bulletin boards and display cases at the college to inform students of health matters.

"Jane was just so creative when it came to making a bulletin board eye-catching and appealing to students," said Val Burke, coordinator of health and special services at the college. "She knew how to catch their attention on a health subject that would normally cause them to zone out."

Burke credits Mrs. Knapp for helping to make the center more accessible to students.

"Students loved her. They loved her Boston accent and the way she used her charm to get them to listen to her," Burke said. "She was always warm with a big smile, but she could be serious and assertive when she needed to. I think they respected her for that."

Recalling the day Mrs. Knapp interviewed with her more than 20 years ago, Burke said she knew within minutes that she had found the right person for the job.

"She made an immediate impression on me," Burke said. "So much so, I still remember what she was wearing that day. She had on a denim skirt and a plaid blouse, and although her manner was very casual, it was readily apparent to me that she was a very dedicated nurse with exceptional skills.

"I knew immediately that she was something special."

Besides Mrs. Knapp's husband, survivors include three sons, James, Charles, and Thomas; two daughters, Barbara Sassen and Carolyn Sladek; her mother, Helen Stasz; a brother, Edward Stasz; and three grandchildren.

Prayers will be said at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville, followed by a mass at 10 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 1450 Green Trails Drive, Naperville.